1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet recording apparatus including a maintenance unit that performs maintenance on a printing head.
2. Description of Related Art
Recording methods using ink-jet recording apparatuses include line-type methods and serial-type methods. In the line-type methods, a paper serving as a recording medium and a line head having a width larger than or equal to that of the paper are moved relative to each other and, in this condition, the line head performs recordings. In the serial-type methods, a head performs recordings on a paper that is being conveyed along a paper conveyance direction while the head reciprocates perpendicularly to the paper conveyance direction, i.e., in a main scanning direction. In the line-type methods, the head is not required to move in a main scanning direction and therefore recordings can be performed at higher speeds than in the serial-type methods.
In either method, line type or serial type, it is necessary, in order to record high-quality images, to maintain good ink-ejection from very small nozzles formed in the head. Thus, the head is generally subjected to regular maintenance in which, more specifically, extra ink and foreign matters adhering onto an ink-ejection surface where many nozzles are formed are wiped off by use of a blade or a roller, ink containing foreign matters or air bubbles which remains within the nozzles is forcibly drained out of the nozzles, and the like.
In the serial type, since the head is constructed in a movable manner, the head can be moved along the main scanning direction beyond a recording area, where the maintenance is carried out.
On the other hand, according to a well-known technique in the line type methods, the head is moved vertically upward away from a conveyance unit that includes a conveyor belt for conveying a paper, to thereby form space between the head and the conveyance unit, into which a maintenance unit that performs maintenance on the head is inserted (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,945). In this technique, maintenance of the head is performed with a serial arrangement of the head, the maintenance unit, and the conveyance unit in this sequence from the top in a vertical direction.